FG Targets Cashew Boom With New Roadmap to Boost Jobs, Exports

‎"Although Nigeria produces between 300,000 and 350,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts annually, more than 85 per cent is exported without processing, resulting in significant revenue losses and missed employment opportunities." Owan Enoh

The Federal Government has unveiled a comprehensive roadmap aimed at transforming Nigeria's cashew industry into a major driver of industrialization, job creation and export earnings by expanding local processing and reducing the export of raw cashew nuts.

Speaking at the validation workshop for the Nigeria Cashew Industry Roadmap in Abuja, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, said the initiative would reposition Nigeria as a globally competitive player in the cashew value chain.

He disclosed that although Nigeria produces between 300,000 and 350,000 metric tonnes of raw cashew nuts annually, more than 85 per cent is exported without processing, resulting in significant revenue losses and missed employment opportunities.

According to him, the roadmap aligns with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and the 2026 Nigeria Industrial Policy, while addressing longstanding challenges such as ageing plantations, low productivity, poor infrastructure, inadequate seedlings, limited access to finance and underutilised processing facilities.

The Minister announced plans to establish a Nigerian Cashew Project Office to coordinate implementation in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), GIZ and other stakeholders. He said success would be measured by increased local processing, new processing factories, higher export earnings and improved livelihoods for farmers.

Representing the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Bukar Musa, described the roadmap as a major step towards strengthening production, value addition and export competitiveness.

The Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, said the initiative would support the Federal Government's ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy through increased investment, local processing and non-oil exports, while reaffirming PEBEC's commitment to improving the business climate.

Industry stakeholders, including the National Cashew Association of Nigeria, the Cashew Processors and Allied Products Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Commodity Exchange and farmers' groups, called for consistent policies, greater investment in climate-smart farming, improved access to finance and stronger local processing capacity.

They unanimously agreed that effective implementation of the roadmap would unlock the full economic potential of Nigeria's cashew industry, drive rural development, create thousands of jobs and boost the country's non-oil export earnings.

This is contained in a statement issued and signed by Augustina Obilor-Duru, Head Press and Public Relations Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment FMITI in Abuja.